Creative Clusters and the Urban Economy

"a greater emphasis on human imagination, innovation and creativity … must be the key differentiators for business." This is a singular recognition of just how much technology has changed our world.

Billed as "The Creative Imperative," the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, this January has changed the worldwide discussion. "To make sense of a rapidly changing world and to connect the seemingly unconnected" says Klaus Schwab, founder of the Davos Forum, "a greater emphasis on human imagination, innovation and creativity … must be the key differentiators for business." This is a singular recognition of just how much technology has changed our world.

Over five years ago Business Week magazine reported that "the industrial economy is giving way to the creative economy and corporations are at another crossroads. Attributes that made them ideal for the 20th century could cripple them in the 21st; they will have to change dramatically. The main struggle of daily business will be won by the people and the organizations that adapt most successfully to the new world that is unfolding." One only has to follow the recent history of the Ford Motor Company to understand how very difficult this process can be.

By John Eger

Full Story: http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=98345